City Council, citing years-long noise complaints, appears unanimously in favor of enforcing a permanent ban on pickleball at the city's only outdoor public courts
One of California's most picturesque coastal towns is on the cusp of making history, though not the kind pickleball fans will be happy to hear.
Carmel-by-the-Sea is moving toward becoming the first city in California to permanently ban public pickleball , and the reasoning behind it reveals a tension that's been simmering in communities across the country: the sport's explosive growth versus the noise complaints from neighbors who didn't sign up for the soundtrack.
"Earlier this month," ABC7 Bay Area reports , "the Carmel City Council paved the way for making a temporary ban permanent at the only public court within Carmel city limits."
That park, Forest Hill Park, is now in danger of losing pickleball for good.
How We Got Here After years of friction, stemming from a relentless flood of noise complaints and other civic issues, the City Council decided in October to enforce a temporary ban on play at the public pickleball courts.
"The best plan they could devise was to enforce the use of soft or 'quiet' paddles and balls that would help notch down the signature echo clap the plastic balls made on the wood paddles," SFGate reports .
It didn't work. While some residents said the noise levels had, in fact, noticeable decreased, more still stressed that it wouldn't last.
As of 2023, Carmel had a population ju... FULL ARTICLE FOUND ON: https://www.thedinkpickleball.com/carmel-could-become-californias-first-city-to-fully-ban-public-pickleball/
